Woodland teens get graphic demonstration on dangers of drunken driving

Seeing is believing, and when Woodland High School students left their classrooms Thursday morning to witness the wreckage from a car accident, they believed.

Hundreds of students watched as firefighters, paramedics and police officers responded to the "crash" scene next to the student parking lot where a total of four students suffered injuries, and one student died as a result.

The "crash" was part of a simulation meant to open the eyes of students, teaching them about the dangers of drinking and driving.

There was no absence of tears among students in audience as they watched their peers being extracted from the two vehicles that collided on Beamer Street.

Sophomore Jasmine Cullison watched closely as fellow students were rescued from the wreckage. She did not know any of the students personally, but said she cried during the demonstration nonetheless.

Victoria Young, another Woodland High sophomore said that the demonstration made her concerned with "being on the road with other people."

Both students are not licensed, but will be driving soon, and will remember this day when they do.

The white sedan was driven by a "drunk" young man who only suffered minor injuries. He was seen walking around the accident site as his passenger, who was unconscious for the entire demonstration, was pulled from the car after the roof was removed by firefighters.

The jaws-of-life were used to remove the roof of the other vehicle as well, which had three students inside. One student, who was not wearing a seat belt, crashed through the windshield resulting in his death. Firefighters covered his body with a blanket, focusing on the driver of the vehicle who cried out that she could not feel her legs. Paramedics placed a neck brace on the girl, and worked to safely remove her from the vehicle without injuring her even further.

Another teen, who sat in the back of the second vehicle, suffered minor injuries but continued to cry during the demonstration, watching as paramedics wheeled her friend into the back of an ambulance.

The passenger from the white vehicle was airlifted to Woodland Memorial Hospital by a REACH medical helicopter out of Vacaville. Once there, he was treated and met by his family, continuing the simulation there.

The driver of the white vehicle was arrested after a number of sobriety tests, and was booked into jail after leaving the accident scene in the back of a police car.

Once the injured students were removed from the scene, the coroner arrived to examine the body of the teen who died after crashing through the windshield. With the help of firefighters, she removed the teenager from the wreckage, placing him in a body bag on the way to the morgue.

The mock crash is just the beginning of a two-day event put on by the Every 15 Minutes program, an educational experience that reminds teenagers of the dangers associated with drunk driving.

Fire Captain Eric Zane, of the Woodland Fire Department, said that he has been involved in several demonstrations at high schools in Woodland, including Pioneer and Woodland Christian.

"It does have an impact on the students," he said. "We hate seeing kids involved in accidents like this."

The event is designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol and texting while driving. Every 15 minutes someone in the U.S. dies from an alcohol-related traffic collision.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2012 more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes that cost more than an estimated $37 billion annually.

An assembly will take place at 10:30 a.m. today for students and staff to discuss the topic. The focus of the assembly stresses that the decision to consume alcohol can affect many more people than just the one who drinks. With growing technology, the dangers of texting while driving are also emphasized in this program.